It was a late, but very exciting, night of tennis for fans in D.C. yesterday, with our great quarterfinal field now set. ADHEREL

In the highlight match of the evening, Andy Roddick became the 36th player in the Open Era to reach 500 career match victories, after he pulled the win over Sam Querrey 7-6 (4), 6-4 in the third round of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic. He became only the fourth active player to join this club, which includes Roger Federer, Lleyton Hewitt, and Carlos Moya.

“You know that’s the equivalent in baseball of something like 500 home runs. And that’s kind of a milestone in tennis,” Roddick said after the match. “So, it’s certainly a pleasure to do it here in Washington. And it’s a very humbling experience, and who knows, maybe we’ll try for 500 more.”

When asked if he remembered his first win, nine years ago against Fernando Vincente, Roddick didn’t hesitate, “[It was] 6-4, 6-0, first round of Miami in 2000. It was cool because it was about 45 minutes from where I went to high school, and I actually was still in high school. A bunch of my friends came down. I just thought I was the coolest person on the planet.”

In his very next match, Roddick was schooled up by Andre Agassi, whose torch at the Legg Mason he now bears. In his 500 matches, Roddick has definitely learned some lessons throughout his career, and brought them to the fore last night, despite his less than best performance.

Roddick’s usually trusty service weapon was not working for him last night. He doubled six times, lost his serve twice, and threw in just three aces. But he put together three BPs and put in a high percentage of first serves and groundies to keep the pressure on Querrey to eventually get the W. He’s now 3-0 over Querrey, with all of their match-ups coming on hard court. After the match, a commemorative cake decorated with a big “500” was delivered to him on court.

Roddick will take on big man Ivo Karlovic in the first night match at 7pm. Karlovic took out qualifier Somdev Devvarman 7-5, 6-1. It was a sad end of the road for the UVA grad, who had another great run at the Legg Mason after surviving the qualies. In ten service games, Dev managed to win just six points off Karlovic, and never got to deuce. He brought a great level of excitement to the tournament, and everyone looks forward to seeing him back next year.

Two incredible 3-set matches led the day, starting with veterans Tommy Haas and Juan Carlos Ferrero, who, despite their “advanced ages”, have surprisingly only met on four other occasions. This was their first hard court match. Though he struggled a bit with his first serve, with the crowd behind him, Tommy grabbed the 7-5, 2-6, 6-1 win, almost bageling JC in the third.

Haas will take on Fernando Gonzalez, who pulled in the win over American lefty Wayne Odesnik, in the Noon match today. Odesnik had a strong partisan red bandana-wearing crowd cheering him on, and he played a well-fought match, but eventually lost 2 and 4. Gonzo is also still rolling in dubs. He and the still coachless Tommy Robredo will take on Danny Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic in late afternoon action in the stadium.

Roddick, Karlovic, and Gonzalez are the only singles quarterfinalists who have yet to lose a set in the tournament.

Next up was 2004 Champion Lleyton Hewitt against defending champ Juan Martin Del Potro, who both grabbed their DC titles in Olympic years. This was probably the most thrilling match of the day. Delpo dropped the first set for the second straight match before rallying in the second, and was then serving for the match at 5-4 in the third. In true Elfish fashion, he lost the game at love, but both players held their final service game, setting up the TB. Tied at 2, DelPo grabbed a mini-break with a backhand winner down the line that started a run of five consecutive points. Lleyton is still in dubs though, and with partner Chris Guccione will take on Travis Parrott and Filip Polasek in the grandstand at 4pm today.

In other third-round matches, (5) Robin Soderling topped Marc Gicquel 7-5, 5-7, 6-3; (8) Tomas Berdych edged past Philipp Petzschner 4-6, 6-3, 6-3; and John Isner took out French veteran and qualie Sebastien de Chaunac 6-2, 6-4 in a match that must have lasted past midnight. Your humble reporter was tucked in by then.

Lynn, a very concise and informative breakdown of what has transpired thus far at Legg Mason. I believe this tournament will gain more in its popularity ad become one of the more favoured of the North American hard court tournaments.

I’m extremely happy for Roddick reaching such a memorable milestone in his career and hope he does get to double that to 1,000 wins. On the other Legg mason thread, I mentioned Hewitt’s 500th win was celebrated by a cake and a presentation, and wondered if the same was done for Roddick. Therefore, thanks to your article, my questions were answered. I’ve also been wondering how many Aces Andy’s hurled during his 500 career wins, do you have a stat? It should be quite an impressive one.

I can see Roddick maturing as a player and has learnt to win despite his serve, his biggest weapon, not clicking. He had to do that last night, and even though I only watched the Live Scores, it was obvious he won quite a few points teeing off on Querrey’s second serve, which is an MO he used to bypass until hooking up with Stefanki, and one which many a commentator criticized him for not doing. Well, it seems at the ripe old age of 26, soon to be 27, Andy has learnt to do just that and how to win ‘ugly’ at times, minus his major weapon. I do hope he’ll be serving better tonight considering who’ll be on the other side of the net, Dr. Ivo, per Veno, the ‘Croatian windmill’. LOL.

Veno: Thanks for your good wishes ref Andy Roddick! Did you notice I mentioned your beautiful nick for Dr. ivo in my above post @12:04 pm? The mtach v. Querrey was a painful one to sit through on live scores, thankfully, there’s live TV today. Woo hoo! I know, I’m not supposed to rub it in, sorry but it’s so good to see a match on TV nowadays.

Here’s a link on Roddick’s match and his comments from Yahoo Eurosport. I like to read the comments following the article from the posters on that site, which I find to be quite hilarious at times.

ITF and WADA have appealed Gasquet’s drug ruling. I don’t understand the brouhaha by the two organizations over the infinitesimal amount of cocaine that was found in Gasquet’s system, nor the use of a recreational drug which when taken dulls the senses and/or hampers the movement of an athlete. Also, isn’t double jeopardy applicable here?

Veno: Yes, I found it strange that Querrey’s remarked nothing was wrong with Andy’s serve considering Roddick had 6 double-faults and was broken about 3 or 4 times, plus he only had 3 aces as compared to Querrey’s 11 or 12, which is extremely unusual for Andy. In a strange way it seems as though Querrey is intimating that it was his game that bothered Roddick not Roddick’s serve. What did I say about sheep’s clothing? A prime example about trusting no one, not even a supposedly good friend. Chalk it up to experience.

“Glad you like my ” nick” for Dr. Ivo(like that 1 too)”

Ahsoo, you’re keeping count eh? Yes, I like your nicks for the players — they’re very creative. I’m not one for such creativity, and I appreciate it when I see it done by others. Two Cents is also very creative; so keep them coming guys.

500 wins is a huge milestone. If Andy’s been a pro for 10 years, that’s a minimum of 50 wins a year. Remarkable consistency. As you pointed out, he’s actually getting better with age as his game and strategic development progress. Don’t know if he’ll get to 1000 matches but if he wins 800 matches and get a few more majors, this would comprise a great career.

SG: Thanks. I think it’s super terrific for my little guy to get to the 500 wins milestone. Yes, i agree with you 800 would be a more realistic goal, but as he said 1,000, who am I to argue with the guy. I’d love to see him win a couple more majors, but sometimes, it’s not in one’s destiny regardless of the amount of effort that’s dedicated. I hope for his sake, the cards are shuffled in his favour and he gets that ‘one slam’ monkey off his back. C’mon Andy, you can do it!

Agree, 800 seems a realistic number for Andy(would eclipse Pete) and 950 seems a realistic number for Fed…Great family pic of The Federers btw. Glad he’s playing in Montreal….and how about his dedication to tennis and taking his responsibility as the world’s number 1!!!!!!!
Kudos to Fed!!!!!!!!

Well, Gonzalez won the first QF and is now in the SF where DelPotro awaits him. Haas seemed to be experiencing some difficulty with his right arm. I have been wondering how long he’d go injury free and it now seems as though all of the matches he’s been playing recently has now caught up to him.

Veno, you’re correct Soderling does have a delicate body and is similar to Haas in many respects regarding his health. Too, too bad for someone with such a promising career and a good game. Isn’t it weird how the draw never runs true to form ref injuries and retirements?

Veno: I call him my little guy because I’ve watched him grow up since the juniors and to me he’ll always be little considering I’m maman. Get it? ha ha. Don’t worry, as far as you’re concerned, I consider you to be Mount Everest — I mean 6’3″, whew, that’s huge.

Nice win by Gonzalez today. Too bad that Soderling had to go out. I thought he had a good chance if Del Potro served as poorly as he did against Hewitt.

800 is a lot of wins for Roddick to get to. Possible but would probably take around 7 more years of playing at a very high level to get to. I don’t know if he’ll hold up that long. Federer to 950 is a long way to go as well. But if he plays until his mid 30s maybe 850. Eventually the winning pace drops off and he might be down to 30 wins a season. He could be betwen 55-65 for the next couple of years and get to 800 around the end of 2011 if he stays healthy. I don’t seem him winning as many matches per year in his early 30’s as he’ll be reducing the number of tournaments he plays to focus on the majors. With the family and now that he’s ahead of Pete he might start doing that sooner than later.

“You know that’s the equivalent in baseball of something like 500 home runs. And that’s kind of a milestone in tennis,” Roddick said after the match. “So, it’s certainly a pleasure to do it here in Washington. And it’s a very humbling experience, and who knows, maybe we’ll try for 500 more.”

when was the last time federer used the word humbling to describe any of his achievements? it’s always, I was so amazing . .. …. .

Vonnie! My girl Cirstea won the first set(tie-breaker) against Agnes Radwanska in the QF of LA.
She led 5-2 and had set point on Radwanska’s serve…Have live coverage here so have to do it with WTA, but thank god Sorana is on :-D

Yes, I am optimistic by nature and I’ll tell you why I think both numbers are realistic….Andy has a good chance to reach 800 as I see him play for at least 6 seasons more(he’ll turn 33 at the end of the 2015 season)…let’s say he’ll win 45 matches a season….he’ll be at 770 plus what he’ll still win this year :-D…doesn’t seem too far fetched…

As for Fed, assuming he’ll play until 2012 it’s not a stretch to say he’ll win 65 matches a year and add 25 more he’ll win this year….That will bring his tally to 877. And here’s the scoop…I still doubt it’s a definite decision he’ll quit after the 2012 season, especially if he’s still fit(and I think he’ll be fit at 31) and it could be that Raf(who’ll be only 26 then) could have double digit slam wins……So Fed would add 2 more seasons winning 35 and 40 matches(Davis Cup included) and will end up with 950!!!!!!How about that?

Very few players have played up to middle 30s, If nagging injuries starts, retiring thoughts becomes imminent…Look at Tim Henman who wishes to play for longer than he did but instead retired at 32…actually he stop playing regularly almost a year and half before he hang up raquet.

Hey Kimmi, I like Sam(Stosur) a lot too, but as we discussed before, she still has to learn how to get tournament-tough in stead of match-tough….she’s still very fickle. She beat 2 hotties though(Kirilenko and Ivanovic) good for her. Thank god Sorana is still in as I only get to watch WTA and not ATP…Zheng is kicking Sam’s petootie at the moment…

Veno: Woo-Hoo, Andy beat the ‘windmill’. I don’t bounce around when I’m watching Andy’s matches, i sit very still but very tense. Anyway, glad it’s over and now I can eat my dinner without any agita. LOL.

Nadal says: “Davis Cup is always on my calendar,” Nadal told the Spanish sports daily Marca. “Provided I don’t suffer any setbacks, and am selected, I would play Montreal, Cincinnati, US Open and Davis Cup.”

…and am selected? there is humble and there is just politically too correct….

Going on the assumption Rafa said this himself:

Come on Rafa, I like you, but enough already with the “good boy, perfect son-in-law” act…You’re 23 now, a tennis pro and a warrior!!! It’s not charming anymore to being titled a “kid” on tour anymore!!!

Time to put the nappies away and start acting(also in appearance(remember the pink and yellow at RG?) and in the written media. Spread those wings and fly my man!!!

Thanks to everyone for your kind words and thoughtful comments during the course of the tournament. I agree that LMTC will become increasingly more popular, with both fans and players alike, over the coming years. It’s only detriment is that it unfortunately shares the same spot as the Summer Olympic Games in the calendar.

I think it’s a fair assumption to see Roddick go the distance. Paired with either Delpo or Gonzo, we’re in for a great final.

Another thing I think we’ll see is that Roddick will soon have the most titles in DC. Agassi’s got 5 titles, and Andy’s already at 3. At Andy’s age, who knows how far he’ll go? :)

Tenisbebe: Very good field in Cincinati, almost all top players are playing there (i see Serena and Venus) Kim Clijsters is opening up with Bartoli, tough debut match for her. Let us know if some interesting news happening behind the seen. Enjoy.

von: yes, would be thrilled re Andy M but as I have commented he has a very tough draw so we’ll see. Think he needs to win a grand slam to silence his critics.
Saw a bit of JMDP v Gonzo match. Thought it v. disappointing, neither playing very well. Come on Andy R!

Veno: Whew, that match was full ‘o suspense, and then some! What’s with these giants and Roddick, sheesh? I’m going to make a recommendation that all giants above 6’4″ should be sent to the ATP Giants Tour. LOL. The regular tour should consist of all Lilliputians not the Gullivers.

Did you see the link I posted for you @ 4;48 pm? BTW, I hope you didn’t overdo it at the wedding. shake, shake, shake …..

Von – I heard Dell say that he texted Andy with that message several days after the Wimby final. It’s very true – look how many people, die -hard Fed fans in particular said that they were going to/were rooting for Andy in that final? Not just “a nation”, a planet. I’ve voiced this before but will say again: that speaks volumes – to come back and turn around public opinion after so many years.

Von – 1st congrats to Andy – he stayed the course tonight against a tenacious (yet in the end tired) and surprisingly crafty Isner (did I see touch shots from an American?). But it’s not over – there’s Delpo manana.

Interesting day….Have never been to qualifying matches, much less for WTA matches but attended as a fan today at Cincinnati and saw Oudin vs Gullickson (no relation apparently), Bondarenko vs Mattek, Coin vs somebody and a very good match, Glatch vs Wickmayer. Ursula Radwanska & Vania King were scheduled to play qualies but of course were still in California. Bondarenko & Oudin won in 2 with Melanie struggling but this Wickmeyer chick played a very gutsy & entertaining match coming back from a set and a break down. Now can watched the taped day matches from CA and DC :-)

tenisbebe: Thanks for confirming you heard Dell’s remarks (which means I don’t need to provide a link as proof). Also, thanks for your ‘congrats’ for Andy’s SF win. Roddick must be drained from playing all those giants, not to mention he’ll be playing with only 17 hours of recovery time, and switching from night to day matches tomorrow, but the heat should help him to serve better since the court becomes faster during the day as opposed to the cooler conditions at night = more aces for Roddick. However, I’m hoping for the best for, and from him, and also that the final will be equally enjoyable as the other matches he’s played thus far. Let’s hope DelPotro also plays a more stimulating match than his SF match v. Gonzalez.

Congrats to you on Stosur’s win over my girl Cirstea, oh she’s Veno’s girl also! How can I forget that, shame on me! LOL

Lucky you being privileged to watch some great WTA matches, especially Oudin and Glatch, who I feel are gutsy players (remember Fed Cup). I love Oudin’s and Glatch’s tenacity. I know Mattek-Sands wears some weird outfits but I happen to like her no-frills on-court attitude — she’s not a prima donna.

Speaking of Ursula Radwanska, I can’t believe the match she played v. Sharapova. She had so many, many opportunities to win, but just couldn’t hold serve, and in the end Sharapova won. BTW, have you ever seen Sharapova play live and in person? I ask this because of her shrieks/screams, and wonder how loud she sounds as opposed to TV — I’d need earplugs if I had to sit through one of her matches.

Enjoy the taped matches and your day tomorrow in Cincy. BTW, have you seen any of the women players in the locker room? If so, did you speak to any of them?

Kimmi – Yes a good field, similar to Indian Wells & Miami although I don’t think either Stosur or Sharapova are scheduled to play (too far from Manhatten Beach?) but Jankovic, Ivanovic, Wms sisters, Wozniaki, etc. – a strong field.

Safina was out on the practice courts this afternoon (with about 50 people silently watching her) & I called out good luck to her – she looked at me & smiled, seemly relieved to hear a non-hostile voice.

Bummer of an opener for Kimmmy but also for Bartoli as the crowd will DEFINITELY be for Kim. Strange thing today – someone told me that Verdasco was on Grandstand Court watching a match about 5 mns before I arrived there. This does not seem possible to me – why wouldn’t he be in Montreal? I will have to check on this…..

Von – Am hoping Andy is on form tomorrow and kicks some butt in the final. I like Delpo but he is young a& has many years ahead of him. Am just now watching the Gonzo/Delpo SF so can’t commment on either players form yet.

Am so VERY happy Sam won! The “late bloomer”. Have liked her for a long time but she has had setbacks with illness and injury so has been frustrating from a fan standpoint. Appears she is not playing in Cincy :-(

I really like Cirstea also but….not when she’s playing Sam. Hopefuly she’ll make her mark again in Cincy although a much stronger field.

Melanie stuggled, making a lot of UE’s but hung in their to win in 2 – I sat next to her coach. Alas, Glatch lost in 3 to thw Wickmeyer girl I mentioned in a very competitive match. Hopefully Wickmeyer will make it to the main draw & I’ll/we’ll see more of her. Bethanie is a free spirit – bummer she lost today to Bondarenko. Her mom yelled “c’mon” the middle of a point & Bethanie gave her the “shh” motion after – we all smiled – daughter correcting mom.

I saw the Ursula/Maria match – painful. Neither could bring themselves to win which happened again today vs Penetta. Aiiiii! I have seen (& heard) Maria play at Indian Wells but strangely her shrieking didn’t bother me as it wasn’t as loud as on the telly.

Von – haven’t started my LR shifts yet (Monday) so will keep you posted. I enjoyed today at qualies so much, I may go back tomorrow :-)

caught both of the men’s semis- both were fun matches to watch. Although he’s tall as well, Del Potro certainly has a different style than Karlovic and Isner, both players who live and die with their serve. Del Potro is a better mover and much better overall player, but his serve shouldn’t be that frustrating to handle. Roddick will need to be more careful on his service games, but he should also have a easier time breaking. Both players are mentally tough, but I think Roddick is more fit- I think Roddick will take it in 3.

I like the following: “Federer said he spent nearly three weeks at the hospital, sleeping in the same room with Mirka, who had checked in early; later, he was sleeping in the same room with Mirka and the twins. He still found time last week to practice for six straight days near the hospital with the Austrian player Stefan Koubek.”

And of course I went flat out Shake-arooney at the wedding :-D and was home in time to watch the 3rd set on stream(so I was glad Issie took the first to 6)
Andy’s attitude, grit and movement really impress me(still think his serve isn’t quite where it was during Wimby)
His of court interview with Patrick and darren was nice too.

Also liked his honesty when answering(in another interview) to a question how he saw all the gained worldwide respect after his excruciating Wimby loss…However, and I have said this before, Andy is one of those strong characters who leaves little in the “grey area”, wears his heart on his sleeve and tells it like he sees it. Although I respect him for saying: “I’ll take it for the moment, cause I know it’s fleeting.” by saying that he is walking on thin ice(he could have stressed the positive side of the matter more in stead of emphasizing the negative “fleeting” at the end of his comment) and I hope it won’t turn out to be a self-forfilling prophecy

That’s why I’m so glad Andy is playing well and getting a good result(he will win the title) at Legg Mason in his first appearance post-Wimby is the best that could have happened to him!!!

Veno – Thanks – I will post when I can from here as they are typically long hot days & sometimes I just need to eat & cool down when I return.

re: Andy’s comment “I’ll take it for the moment, cause I know it’s fleeting.”, I read this too & thought it a realistic comment not a negative one. He’s been through this before (post 2003 USO) and know how demanding & fickle the American public is ie: if you’re not winning high profile events, you’re a nobody. I’m sure he’ll read alot of the negative, nasty crap that’s been put out there on blogs etc in the past few years & knows it can all go away if he doesn’t win another major. Let’s hope not – that this new found respect from the public is here to stay.

Hey bebe, I agree with you and I don’t interpret his realistic comment as negative…Just don’t know if the average new Andy-sympathiser will interpret it the same….

Concerning Maria, you make a good point, still, I saw the Pennetta match and to me it doesn’t look that high….I could be wrong though…
I doubt though if she has the rotative speed to make, even with an abbreviated motion, the turn in time with use of the upward force generated from the legs…

Tenisbebe: “Safina was out on the practice courts this afternoon (with about 50 people silently watching her) & I called out good luck to her – she looked at me & smiled, seemly relieved to hear a non-hostile voice. ”

LOL LOL. the last bit was funny..Number 1 without a GS, she probably hears that in her sleep. Safina is somebody else who needs to fix the serve imo. The ball toss seem to dissapear off the camera when you watch her. I think they should all watch tapes of Serena serving, very simple but perfect.

I also did not see Sam and Sharapova in the draw, They both played a lot of matches especially Sam…it does make sense they are saving themselves for toronto next week.
I hope Sam wins her first singles title today… she is one of the girls with best serve on tour..on clay her serve kicks so high, I watched her when she played Demantieva at this year FO and demantieva could not handle it. I always wondered about the glasses she wears during her matches, is it just for sun protection OR does she have some medical issues ? mmm curious..

tenisbebe: “Von – Am hoping Andy is on form tomorrow and kicks some butt in the final.”

Thanks, and I’m hoping Andy wins this thing, which will be good for his confidence going forward. He didn’t come into the tournament with high expectations, which I feel is a realistic approach considering it’s his first since Wimbledon, and I doubt he’d be shattered if Del Potro wins. That said, I’m still hoping for, and would like, for Roddick to win. Last year, when he lost to Del Potro he was suffering with his arm/shoulder injury, which translates to me that this is the real McCoy and he’ll know how he matches up against Del Potro when he’s healthy.

Thanks for all the updates on Cincy and I look forward to hearing from you as the tournament progresses.

blah: I get Toronto and Montreal mixed up also, so I say Canada before the tourney begins, and of course, when it begins, I get the city right. I wonder why they keep switching back and forth, but that’s their prerogative, isn’t it?
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Veno: shake-aroney? LOL. Cirstea is suffering from plantar fasciitis, which is a horrible ailment for any player’s career. She was limping around the court like a wounded bird. Our little girl needs to take it easy for a while.